Poker-type card game

ABSTRACT

A poker-type game capable of providing a dealer with an initial advantage and a player with a subsequent advantage. From a predetermined number of cards, a dealer is assigned an initial hand having a greater poker value than an initial hand assigned to a player. Subsequently, a dealer receives a number of cards to complete the dealer&#39;s hand, and the player receives a number of cards to complete the player&#39;s hand, wherein a predetermined poker advantage is conveyed to the predetermined number of cards to complete the player&#39;s hand.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/712,501 filed Nov. 13, 2003 in the name of the Applicant, to which priority is claimed.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates generally to card games and methods therefor and, more particularly, to a poker-type card game with mutually exclusive advantages for a dealer and at least one player.

2. Description of Prior Art

Casino poker games have been popular since the late 1980's when the games “Carribean Stud” (disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553 to Suttle, et al in 1989), “Double Down Stud” (disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,413 to Fulton in 1992), and “Let It Ride” (disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081 to Breeding in 1994) were introduced. Later, “Three Card Poker” (disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,774 to Webb in 1997), was also introduced. These are the four most popular casino poker games today.

While these four games enjoy the most commercial success, at least a hundred new casino poker games have been patented since the 1980's. Described below are eight of these new games that provide insight into the broad categories into which these new games fit.

The first, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,308 to Herrmann in 1999, combines poker with a game of blackjack. This game is from a group of games that blend poker with some other familiar casino game. A second game, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,529 to de Keller in 1999, is from a group that uses competition among players for a Pot award. A third game, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,823 to Webb in 2001, is from a group using wild cards. A fourth game, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,646 also to Webb in 2002, is from a group in which the player competes against a hand dealt to a dealer or the house. A fifth game, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,768 to Caputo in 2003, is from a group in which the player's final poker hand is compared to a group of winning hands in a pay table to determine awards. A sixth game, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,456 to Gajor in 2002, is from a group in which the physical arrangement of cards on the playing surface determines winning combinations. A seventh game, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,457,715 to Friedman in 2002, is from a group which involve draw poker—as opposed to stud poker which is far more common for casino poker games. Finally, an eighth game, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,130 to Jones and Suttle in 2000, is from a group that disclose only elements of a game—as opposed to complete games. This particular patent describes progressive jackpot payouts to players holding select poker hands.

As mentioned above, there are more than 100 new poker-based game patents, some of which combine elements of the aforementioned eight types. However, these eight encompass the major new Prior Art in casino poker games, and these eight will be discussed again below.

One reason for these new games is that inventors are trying to overcome a fundamental problem with the four well established games, “Double Down Stud”, “Caribbean Stud”, “Let It Ride” and “Three Card Poker”. This problem is that these games do not supply high-quality hands frequently enough to hold most player's interest. High-quality hands are defined here as Straight's, Flush's, Full House's, Four's of a Kind, Straight Flush's and Royal Flush's. These are the hands that every poker player covets, and getting one of these hands provides a player with a heightened level of enjoyment. One example of a high-quality hand is a five-card Royal Flush, the highest of all poker hands. In five-card stud, it occurs, on average, once in 649,740 hands—an exceedingly rare event. Another example is Four of a Kind which, although less rare, occurs on-average once in every 4165 hands. Overall, a high-quality hand of some kind occurs in these five-card stud games only once in every 133 hands dealt, or about once in every three hours of table play in a casino. This frequency is not great enough to hold the interest of many recreational gamblers. For this reason, many newly-patented games feature higher award frequencies to hold players' interest. As will be shown, however, the rarity of high-quality hands is not the only deficiency in these four well established games.

In the game “Let It Ride” (U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081 to Breeding), lack of high-quality hands causes players to encounter losing streaks which, while mathematically predictable, can be very discouraging, and lead to a player quitting the game. Overall, a player will lose 76% of all “Let It Ride” hands. This loss rate is due to: (1) the rarity of high-quality hands; and (2) the inventor's selection of which hands would receive awards. For example, Breeding could have increased the win rate by paying awards for pairs that are lower than a Pair Of 10's, which is the lowest hand that he selected for award payouts. With only a 24% win rate, the main attraction of this game is a player's option to double or triple the basic bet after seeing a partial hand that is already a winner or looks promising. Therefore, the main drawbacks of the game “Let It Ride” are: (1) the rarity of high-quality hands; and (2) a low 24% win rate due, in part, to Breeding's paytable selection.

In the game “Caribbean Stud” (U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553 to Suttle et al), a player will, on average, lose about 65% of all hands, an improvement over 76% for “Let It Ride”. However, over 40% of the “Caribbean Stud” player's awards are greatly reduced because the dealer's hand is said to not ‘qualify’. The dealer must have a hand of Ace-King or higher in order for the player to receive maximum winning hand awards. The dealer not ‘qualifying’ is a historic source of player dissatisfaction with this game, since a player with a high-quality hand is unhappy to find it is awarded only a fraction of its value because the dealer's hand did not ‘qualify’. Additionally, expert strategy dictates that the player will fold over 47% of all hands and simply lose his/her Ante to the house. Folding and losing one's Ante on over 47% of the hands makes this game even more discouraging. To summarize, drawbacks of “Caribbean Stud” are: (1) the requirement for the dealer's hand to ‘qualify’; (2) expert strategy suggests the player fold over 47% of all hands and simply surrender the Ante wager to the house; and (3) the rarity of high-quality poker hands.

Both “Let It Ride” and “Caribbean Stud” have introduced an entertaining one-dollar optional side wager that can pay very high jackpot awards, in the $100,000 range, for a five-card Royal Flush. This award is possible because the odds of a Five-Card Royal Flush are 649,740-to-1. Other high-quality hands also receive jackpot awards. While this popular option adds more suspense to these games, “Let It Ride ” and “Caribbean Stud” still suffer the drawbacks noted above.

In the game “Double Down Stud” (U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,413 to Suttle), high-quality hands occur at exactly the same rate as “Let It Ride” and “Caribbean Stud”—only 0.75%, or once every 133 hands. This low frequency does not attract many players. Also, a player will lose an average of 66% of all hands, which is about the same as “Caribbean Stud” but an improvement over “Let It Ride”. The loss rate is improved over “Let It Ride” because Suttle's paytable starts at a pair of 7's (vs. Breeding's pair of 10's). The attraction of this game is a player's option to double the basic bet after seeing the first four cards out of a five-card hand. “Double Down Stud” does not offer a side wager with the very high awards for rare hands, as is with “Let It Ride” and “Caribbean Stud”. To summarize, drawbacks of “Double Down Stud” are: (1) the rarity of high-quality hands; and (2) the lack of a side wager with very high payoffs for rare poker hands.

In the game “Three Card Poker” (U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,774 to Webb), there are two independent wagering propositions. The first, designated “Pair Plus”, is based solely on the poker value of the three cards dealt to the player. This wager involves absolutely no player skill or decision-making and the player will, on average, lose 74% of these wagers. This is virtually the same disadvantage suffered by “Let It Ride”. Additionally, the no-skill aspect of this proposition discourages players who like games requiring player decisions.

The second proposition, designated “Ante/Play”, pits the player's three cards against the dealer's three cards in a showdown. The player wins if his/her hand is higher than the dealer's hand. Similar to “Caribbean Stud”, the “Ante/Play” proposition requires the dealer's hand to ‘qualify’ in order for a showdown to take place. This, again, is a source of continual player dissatisfaction because player awards are reduced for, on average, 46% of a player's winning hands. Although the dealer's hand must ‘qualify’ for the “Ante/Play” showdown to take place, a nominal bonus, as high as 5-to-1, is paid for three high-quality player hands, whether the dealer qualifies or not. Nonetheless, the dealer ‘qualify’ requirement is a drawback of the “Ante/Play” wager. Also, expert strategy dictates that the player will fold 33% of all Ante/Play hands and surrender his/her Ante to the house. Consequently, the “Ante/Play” wager can be somewhat discouraging due to the necessity to fold 33% of all hands, which will result in losing one's Ante wager to the house and getting no wagering ‘action’ in return. “Three Card Poker” does not offer a side wager with the very high awards for rare hands, as does “Let It Ride” and “Caribbean Stud”. This is probably because: (1) there are already two wagering options in the game and adding a third option possibly could confuse some players; and (2) “Three Card Poker” is based on three-card poker hand rankings in which the highest quality hand is a Three-Card Straight Flush. This hand occurs, on average, every 460 hands. So, with a typical one-dollar side wager, the true-odds payoff if $460 is nowhere near the $100,000-level awards for a Five-Card Royal Flush in “Let It Ride” and “Caribbean Stud”.

To summarize, drawbacks of the game “Three Card Poker” are: (1) the high rate of player losses in the “Pair Plus” wager; (2) the requirement for the dealer to ‘qualify’ in the “Ante/Play” wager; (3) the expert strategy which compels players following the strategy to fold 33% of all “Ante/Play” wagers; and (4) the lack of any side wager paying very high awards for rare poker hands.

The above examinations of “Double Down Stud”, “Caribbean Stud”, “Let It Ride” and “Three Card Poker” obviously require detailed mathematical analysis and an expert playing strategy for each game. These analyses and strategies have been published for these games; although, they are not contained in the patent documents themselves. To the inventor's knowledge, none of the eight recently-patented poker games described briefly above have had similar mathematical analyses and optimum strategies published. Nor is this information published in the patent documents themselves. Consequently, it is not possible to assess how well these games remedy the noted shortcomings of the four established games. However, each of the eight recently patented games was analyzed using patent documents and the following drawbacks were observed.

First, the game in U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,308 (to Herrmann) uses decidedly non-standard additions to the game of poker, this being Blackjack or “21”. Most traditional poker players would dislike this mixing of games, yet other players would be confused by it. For traditional poker players, there is enough diversity in poker hands to provide a lifetime of enjoyment. For this group of players, introducing another unrelated game is undesirable and unnecessary. For other players the mixing of games would be confusing.

Second, the game in U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,529 (to de Keller) would be very hard, or impossible, to administer in a casino poker setting because more than one player is required for the game, and this is not always possible, especially when a game is just getting started or is breaking up. Additionally, since competition between players is involved, the potential for emotional outbreaks between players exists. Both of these factors would make the game very difficult to administrate.

Third, the game in U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,823 (to Webb) uses a wild card—apparently to increase the frequency of winning hands. Wild cards are a well-known method of increasing winning hand frequency, so their use is nothing new. Invariably, traditional poker players avoid wild card games, viewing them as family-entertainment poker and not worthy of serious attention. Also, casinos would not want to deal this game because pit personnel would have the daunting task of separating card decks that have Jokers from card decks that do not have Jokers. In summary, any wild card game would likely have only limited appeal to traditional poker players and be disliked by casino managers.

Fourth, the game in U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,646 (to Webb) requires the player and the dealer, to sort cards in their hands into HIGH, MID and LOW groupings. There is then a player-dealer showdown for each grouping. This sorting requires more mental attention and effort than many recreational players would want to devote. Also, the inventor discusses at length the occurrence of “copy” hands, or tie hands. The relatively high occurrence of these hands, relative to other poker games, is an additional problem with this invention.

Poker players do not view “copy” hands, or tie hands, as an expected outcome or a satisfying conclusion to a poker showdown since, in traditional poker games, these are exceedingly rare.

Fifth, the game in U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,768 (to Caputo) is fundamentally a game of “Let It Ride” poker with the additions of: (1) a sixth card which the player has the option of purchasing with an optional upfront wager; and (2) jackpot awards that are progressive instead of the fixed awards which are integral to “Let It Ride”. One difficulty with this invention is that it requires the casino dealer to continually use two pay tables that are very similar. One of these is for players not purchasing the sixth card and another for players that do purchase the sixth card. These pay tables have to be different because winning hand probabilities are greatly different. As a result, this game would be difficult to administrate. There is also a problem for the casino in that part of each optional wager must fund the progressive jackpot and part of it must fund the basic “Let It Ride” pay table. Since the inventor does not explain how this ratio is derived, game administration would be hampered until a suitable ratio was developed.

Sixth, the game in U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,456 (to Gajor) is a game in which the physical arrangement of cards on a playing surface determines winning hands. This game is only suited for video poker gaming since five or more poker hands are presented for analysis during each hand for each player. In a table poker game setting, this task would be far too great for a dealer on a consistent basis. Also, handling the great number of cards would quickly tire a dealer. Further, in the stud poker application of this invention, no player strategy exists. This is because, aside from the initial wager amount, the player makes no other decisions. Somewhat like a bingo game, cards are simply dealt and evaluated. This game would definitely not appeal to traditional poker players who expect and enjoy strategy and decision-making.

Seventh, the game in U.S. Pat. No. 6,457,715 (to Friedman) is a game of draw poker in which the player may replace zero, one or two of an initial two-card hand. Then a third card is dealt and winning hands are selected from a pay table. This game essentially mixes the games of draw poker, evidenced in the discard and replace stage, and stud poker, evidenced by dealing the third card. It is not likely that traditional poker players would accommodate this mixing of game types. In each game type individually, there is enough diversity and richness to satisfy traditional poker players. As such, to this group, mixing two game types appears unnecessary and undesirable.

Eighth, U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,130 (to Jones and Suttle) uses progressive jackpots for rare poker hands. These jackpots have been acknowledged above to increase player interest; so these patents verify a previously acknowledged strong point in the existing game “Caribbean Stud”.

To summarize, the eight recently-patented casino poker games use either: (1) non-standard additions that would discourage, confuse and drive off many recreational players; (2) content that would be hard to administer in a casino table game setting; (3) content likely to have very limited appeal to traditional poker players; or (4) jackpots which have been previously acknowledged to increase player interest and anticipation.

Relative to the above games, the inventor sees an unfilled need for a new poker-type game that avoids the shortcomings of existing games. This new game should have: (1) more frequent high-quality poker hands; (2) a higher player win rate; and (3) involve the player strategically in all hands dealt, i.e., the player always makes a strategy decision and never folds. In addition, this new game should: (4) have no requirement for a dealer's hand to ‘qualify’; (5) offer very large payoffs for rare high quality poker hands; and (6) be easy to administer.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The basic game is showdown poker between at least one player's hand and a dealer's hand. Early in the game, this new method always gives the dealer's hand preferred treatment; consequently, a dealer's initial/partial hand is always more valuable than the player's initial/partial hand. However, later in the game, the dealer's advantage is partially or totally offset by a second specific game action that always favors the player's hand. This second action gives the player's hand the reasonable opportunity to beat the dealer's hand in a showdown. These two actions provide reciprocal advantages—initially only to the dealer, then finally only to the player.

This new method of reciprocal dealer-player advantages is, to the inventor's knowledge, original and has never been seen before in any game. In all games that are fair, there are reciprocal opportunities, or advantages, for both a player and an opponent. However, this invention is novel in that the dealer is given a unique and exclusive advantage early in the game, and this advantage guarantees the dealer a superior early position relative to the player. Then later in the game, the player is also granted a unique and exclusive advantage which gives the player the chance to recover from the initial shortfall and win the game. As will be shown, this method provides the basis for a plurality of embodiments of a new and useful poker game with exceptional suspense, surprise and player enjoyment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method of playing a poker-type card game is disclosed, comprising, in combination the steps of receiving an ante wager from at least one player, dealing an initial predetermined number of cards face up, dealing at least one community card face down, identifying a first subgroup of the initial predetermined number of cards having a relatively high poker value as compared to a second subgroup of the initial predetermined number of cards, assigning the first subgroup having a higher poker value to a dealer as an initial dealer hand, assigning the second subgroup to at least one player as an initial player hand, wherein the initial player hand being a community hand shared by all players when a plurality of players play the poker-type card game, dealing a predetermined number of additional cards to the dealer hand face down, dealing a predetermined number of additional cards to each the at least one player, conveying a predetermined poker advantage to the predetermined number of cards dealt to each the at least one player relative to the predetermined number of cards dealt to the dealer, wherein the poker advantage being at least one of a greater number of cards, cards having a higher poker value, and the at least one player having a selection choice of the cards, requiring each the at least one player to one of place a post-ante wager and forfeit the ante wager, revealing the additional cards dealt to the dealer, revealing the at least one community card, assigning the at least one community card to complete each the dealer hand and each the at least one player hand, wherein a completed dealer hand comprises the first subgroup of the initial predetermined number of cards and the predetermined number of additional cards dealt to the dealer and the at least one community card, wherein a completed player hand comprises the second subgroup of the initial predetermined number of cards and the predetermined number of additional cards dealt to each the at least one player and the at least one community card, determining a final poker hand value of the completed dealer hand, determining a final poker hand value of each the at least one completed player hand, comparing the final poker hand value of the completed dealer hand with the final poker hand value of each the at least one completed player hand, selecting as a winning hand whichever of the completed dealer hand and each the at least one completed player hand having a higher poker value, collecting the ante wager when the at least one player forfeited the ante wager, collecting the ante wager and the post-ante wager when the at least one player having a completed player hand with a lower poker value than a poker value of the completed dealer hand, and paying each the at least one player an amount corresponding to a predetermined payoff structure when the completed player hand having a poker value higher than a completed dealer hand.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method of playing a poker-type card game is disclosed, comprising, in combination the steps of receiving an ante wager from at least one player, dealing an initial predetermined number of cards face up, dealing at least one community card face down, identifying a first subgroup of the initial predetermined number of cards having a relatively high poker value as compared to a second subgroup of the initial predetermined number of cards, assigning the first subgroup having a higher poker value to at least one player as an initial player hand, wherein the initial player hand being a community hand shared by all players when a plurality of players play the poker-type card game, assigning the second subgroup to a dealer as an initial dealer hand, dealing a predetermined number of additional cards to the dealer hand face down, dealing a predetermined number of additional cards to each the at least one player, conveying a predetermined poker advantage to the predetermined number of cards dealt to the dealer relative to the predetermined number of cards dealt to each the at least one player, wherein the poker advantage being at least one of a greater number of cards, cards having a higher poker value, and the at least one player having a selection choice of the cards, requiring each the at least one player to one of place a post-ante wager and forfeit the ante wager, revealing the additional cards dealt to the dealer, revealing the at least one community card, assigning the at least one community card to complete each the dealer hand and each the at least one player hand, wherein a completed dealer hand comprises the second subgroup of the initial predetermined number of cards and the predetermined number of additional cards dealt to the dealer and the at least one community card, wherein a completed player hand comprises the first subgroup of the initial predetermined number of cards and the predetermined number of additional cards dealt to each the at least one player and the at least one community card, determining a final poker hand value of the completed dealer hand, determining a final poker hand value of each the at least one completed player hand, comparing the final poker hand value of the completed dealer hand with the final poker hand value of each the at least one completed player hand, selecting as a winning hand whichever of the completed dealer hand and each the at least one completed player hand having a higher poker value, collecting the ante wager when the at least one player forfeited the ante wager, collecting the ante wager and the post-ante wager when the at least one player having a completed player hand with a lower poker value than a poker value of the completed dealer hand, and paying each the at least one player an amount corresponding to a predetermined payoff structure when the completed player hand having a poker value higher than a completed dealer hand.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

An object of the present invention is to provide a method of playing a poker-type card game capable of providing a dealer with an initial, exclusive advantage and at least one player a subsequent, exclusive advantage. This method, as described above and in the claims, provides novel entertainment in that a player's hand is always at an initial disadvantage relative to a dealer's hand. However, each player is assured that, by the end of the game, the player's hand will enjoy an offsetting advantage relative to the dealer's hand. If cards then fall favorably, the player's final hand will beat the dealer's final hand in a showdown. This unique and novel method will provide players with a distinctively new, entertaining and suspenseful poker game.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new game that overcomes the inherent disadvantages of existing house-banked poker games. This object is fulfilled by a carefully designed line of play which, compared to existing games: (1) yields more high-quality poker hands; (2) has a very high percent of winning player wagers; (3) involves a mentally-stimulating expert strategy; (4) provides very high jackpot awards for very rare hands; (5) is easy for a casino to administer; and (6) does not mix poker with any other game, i.e. contains only poker card combinations. These are explained further below:

More High-Quality Poker Hands: All poker players enjoy being dealt high-quality hands, which were defined above as five-card Straight's, Flush's, Full House's, Four's of a Kind, Straight Flush's and Royal Flush's. Due to the five-card format of “Double Down Stud”, “Caribbean Stud” and “Let It Ride”, these hands occur, on average, only 0.75% of the time—about one high-quality hand per 133 hands dealt. However, in this new game, the player forms the best five-card hand out of a six-card hand. The sixth card increases the frequency of high-quality hands by a factor of 4.4-to-1 verses a five-card format. So, on average, there is one high-quality hand for every 30 hands dealt. The increase in high-quality hands provides this new game a significant advantage over five-card based poker games.

Higher Percent Of Winning Wagers: This new game, in its preferred embodiment, features an overall player win rate for an initial wager of approximately 49%. This win rate is higher than any other house-banked stud poker game for which such information has been published. Specifically, the expert strategy win frequency for the basic bet in “Double Down Stud” is 33%, “Caribbean Stud” is 37% and “Let It Ride” is 24%. The win frequency for the “Three Card Poker” Pair Plus wager is 26% and the Ante/Play wager is 45%. With a 49% win frequency, this new game has a significant advantage over the games “Caribbean Stud”, “Double Down Stud”, “Let It Ride” and the “Three Card Poker” Pair Plus wager, and a marginal advantage over the “Three Card Poker” Ante/Play wager.

Skill, Strategy and Player Decision: A player's decision whether to place the optional second wager (in the preferred embodiment) requires a moderate degree of skill. This skill requirement will attract players who enjoy games containing player decisions. These players normally wager on Blackjack, table poker or sporting events, due to the player decisions these wagers require. The expert strategy for this new game, however, is approximately as complex as Blackjack but not nearly as complex as expert strategies for table poker and sports wagers. In contrast, existing house-banked poker games such as “Double Down Stud”, “Let It Ride”, “Caribbean Stud” and “Three Card Poker” have relatively simple expert strategies. Consequently, the moderate skill element of this new game will attract another new group of players to casino-banked poker games.

Very High Awards Possible: With the optional bonus wager, a six-card Royal Flush (i.e. Ace—Nine in the same suit) can easily pay an award of $1,000,000 for a one-dollar wager. This award is much larger than for five-card Royal Flush's in current games. Awards for a five-card Royal Flush (i.e. an Ace—Ten in the same suit), are typically $100,000 or less for a one-dollar wager. The $1,000,000 payoff for the six-card Royal Flush is possible because the mathematical probability of a six-card Royal Flush is, on average, one in 5,089,630 hands. In contrast, any game using the five-card format could not offer a Royal Flush award of $1,000,000 without a financial loss to the casino. This is because the mathematical probability of a five-card Royal Flush is, on average, one in 649,740 hands. A $1,000,000 maximum award payoff for this new game presents a significant advertising advantage for casinos that will attract another new group players seeking games with lifestyle-changing payoffs.

Easy For Casino To Administer: First, there is only one round of player decision-making so there is less chance for dealer/player misunderstandings than games with multiple player decisions. Second, since this new game distributes cards in groups of three, it is ideally suited to the very efficient card-dealing machines now standard in many casinos. Finally, there is no requirement for more than one player to be at the table, so the game can always proceed.

Only Poker Card Combinations Are Used: The first group of newly-patented games in the Description Of Prior Art combine the game of poker with other casino games such as Blackjack, craps, etc. This mixing of games would probably discourage traditional poker players from playing the game and possibly confuse other players. The preferred embodiment of this new game enjoys an advantage over these games in that it relies only on poker card combinations such as Pairs, Straight's, Flush's, Full House's, etc.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent to the reader from the Description Of Alternative Embodiments, the claims and the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention includes a method of playing a poker-type card game. In the preferred embodiment, a game of stud poker is played, and the dealer is a casino dealer that represents the house or casino, however, it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the present invention in which a game other than stud poker is played and/or in which the dealer is not a casino dealer.

Assuming that the game is being played at a casino or for money or a money equivalent, the first step in the method of playing a poker-type card game is receiving an ante wager from at least one player. The ante wager is preferably a prerequisite for playing the poker-type card game, although it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative configuration of the present invention in which the ante wager is provided after one or more cards are dealt. The next step is dealing an initial predetermined number of cards. In the preferred embodiment, this initial number of cards dealt is four cards, dealt in two rows of two cards each, although it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative number of initial cards.

At least one community card is preferably dealt face down. While, in the preferred embodiment, the at least one community card is dealt at the time the initial predetermined number of cards are dealt, it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the present invention in which the community card is dealt at some other time, for example face up after all other cards are dealt, so long as the identify of the at least one community card is not revealed until a later stage of the poker-type card game.

In the preferred embodiment one community card is dealt, although it should be clear that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the present invention in which more than one community card is used. After the initial number of cards are dealt, a first subgroup (preferably 2 cards) is identified of the initial number of cards (preferably 4 cards) as having a higher poker value as compared to a second subgroup (preferably the remaining 2 cards) of the initial number of cards. In the preferred embodiment, this first subgroup is assigned to a dealer as an initial dealer hand and the second subgroup is assigned to at least one player as an initial player hand. When there is more than one player playing the poker-type card game of the present invention, the initial player hand is treated as a community hand shared by all players. While, in the preferred embodiment, the initial poker value of the initial dealer hand is greater than the initial poker value of the initial player hand, it should be clear that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the poker-type card game in which the initial poker value of the at least one player hand is greater than the initial poker value of the dealer hand.

In the preferred embodiment, the poker value of the initial cards is determined by standard poker rules. If there are four initial cards grouped into two sets of two cards each, then each two-card hand is evaluated, preferably, by standard poker rules, without straights or flushes. For example, when comparing two two-card hands to one another the following rules preferably apply: 1) any two-card hand having a pair has a higher poker hand value than any two-card hand having two unmatched cards; 2) a two-card hand having a pair of higher poker value (e.g., a pair of Kings) has a higher poker value than a two-card hand having a pair of lower poker value (e.g., a pair of 10's); 3) if each two card hand has two unmatched cards then the hand with the highest card has a higher poker value; and 4) if each two card hand has two unmatched cards and the highest card of each two-card hand is the same then the hand with the highest second card has a higher poker value. In the event that both cards of each poker hand are of equal poker value then there are several ways to determine which initial two-card hand is to be assigned to the dealer and which two-card hand is to be assigned to the player. One possibility is that the dealer could simply assign as the initial dealer hand whichever two-card hand is physically closer to the dealer. In one embodiment, if one two card hand has two cards of the same suit while the other does not, then the two-card hand with two cards of the same suit is assigned to the dealer. While, in the preferred embodiment, each two-card hand is compared according to the aforementioned criteria, it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the poker-type card game of the present invention in which some other type of criteria is used, such as two-card straights and two-card flushes, or another variation of standard poker valuation is used for initial hands of more or less than two cards each, to compare and assign each two-card hand to a dealer and a player. For example, the dealer's hand may comprised of the one card having the highest poker value of the four initial cards along with the one card having the lowest poker value of the four initial cards. The remaining two cards would then be automatically assigned to the at least one player.

After the assignment of the initial cards to an initial dealer hand and an initial player hand, a predetermined number of cards are dealt to each at least one player. In the preferred embodiment, the initial cards dealt are community cards to be used by all players whereas additional cards dealt to complete each player's hand are dealt individually to each player, although it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the poker-type card game of the present invention in which both the initial cards and the completion cards are community cards to be used by all players, or in which both the initial cards and the completion cards are dealt individually to each player, or in which the initial cards are dealt individually to each player and the completion cards are community cards.

After a predetermined number of additional cards are dealt to each at least one player, the dealer is then dealt a predetermined number of cards, preferably face-down. In the preferred embodiment, in which the initial dealer hand comprises two cards, the dealer is dealt an additional two cards at this stage to give the dealer a total of four cards. However, it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the poker-type card game of the present invention in which there is an alternative distribution of cards (e.g., receiving three cards as the initial dealer hand and then one card subsequently to complete the dealer hand, or vice-versa), or in which the dealer hand has more than five cards (and the five cards with the highest poker value comprise the dealer's completed poker hand value), or in which the dealer hand has less than five cards (and a separate poker valuation is used to determine the best three-card or four-card poker hand). For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, the dealer may discard and replace a predetermined number of cards. In this same embodiment, the player may then discard and replace a predetermined number of cards, wherein the player may discard and replace a greater number of cards than the dealer.

In the preferred embodiment, when the initial dealer hand and the initial player hand comprise two cards each, and when the dealer receives two additional cards, preferably face-down, to complete the dealer hand, each player receives three additional cards (to go with the player's two initial cards for a total of five cards). Thus, although in the preferred embodiment, the dealer enjoys the initial advantage of receiving an initial hand with a higher poker value than the player's initial hand, each player preferably receives the advantage of receiving at least one additional card with which to achieve a poker hand of a higher value. It should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from alternative distributions of cards so long as there is an initial advantage for the dealer (or alternatively for the player) in the form of the assignment of an initial hand having a higher poker value and a subsequent advantage for the player (or alternatively the dealer) in the form of at least one of: 1) receiving additional cards; 2) receiving cards having a higher poker value; and 3) having a selection choice over the additional cards. For example, it is within the spirit and scope of the invention to deal five cards initially as two sets of two cards each and a fifth card to the side, and after the two-card hand with the higher initial poker value is assigned to the dealer, the fifth card is grouped with the player's initial two-card hand, and then both the dealer and each player receive two additional cards to complete each hand.

After each player has received the additional predetermined number of cards, each player is required to either fold, thereby forfeiting the ante wager originally placed, or make a subsequent or post-ante wager. Preferably, this post-ante wager is limited to one, two or three times the amount of the initial ante wager, although it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the present invention in which the post-ante wager is limited to only half of the ante wager or the post-ante wager is split into multiple post-ante wagers that can be placed at the same or different times.

After the player has either folded or placed an additional wager, the additional predetermined number of cards dealt to the dealer are then revealed along with the at least one community card. The community card is then assigned to complete the dealer hand as well as each player's hand. It should be clearly understood that the order in which the additional predetermined number of cards dealt to the dealer and the at least one community card is revealed can be alternated, so long as at least one of them occurs after the at least one player is required to either fold or place at least one additional wager.

After the dealer's hand has been completed and each player's hand has been completed, a final poker value of each completed hand is determined. The final poker hand value of the dealer hand is then compared with the final poker hand value of each player's hand. Whichever completed hand has the higher poker value is selected as the winning hand.

At this time, each player's hand determined to be a winning hand is preferably awarded an amount equal to the wagers made. Conversely, a wager is collected from each player having a hand determined to be of lesser poker value than the dealer's hand. Players who forfeited their hands may have their ante wager collected at the time the hand is forfeited or at the conclusion of the game.

In one embodiment of the poker-type card game of the present invention, the dealer's hand must be at least equal to a predetermined poker hand value (for example Ace-high) in order for each player to be paid an amount equal to the post-ante wager. In such a scenario, where a player has a winning hand but the dealer hand fails to meet a predetermined poker value, the player would preferably be paid an amount equal to the ante wager, while the post-ante wager would be considered a push with no payout. However, it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the present invention in which there is no predetermined minimum poker value necessary for the dealer to meet in order for each player to receive a payout on the post-ante wager, or in which the predetermined minimum poker value must be met by the player and not the dealer.

In the preferred embodiment, each player is also permitted to make a bonus wager in order to be eligible to receive a pre-determined bonus payout if the completed player hand (or the completed dealer hand) has a pre-determined poker value. As discussed above, a player could wager that his or her completed hand will be a Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, etc. Additionally, if a casino included six-card hands in the bonus payoff structure, a six-card Royal Flush, which is Ace through Nine in the same suit, would be the highest ranking hand (a six-card hand is only possible for a player in the preferred embodiment, and is comprised of the initial two cards as well as the subsequently dealt three cards and the community card). This six-card Royal Flush has the potential for a $1,000,000 or higher award for a one-dollar bonus wager. This is possible because the odds for this hand are one in 5,089,630. As such, the bonus wager enhances the basic wagering aspect of the game by allowing a player to compete for a lifestyle-changing award. While, in the preferred embodiment, the player is permitted to make a bonus bet, it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the present invention in which there is no bonus bet option.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the poker-type card game is played between players, and not against a casino-banked dealer. In this embodiment, competition would be between players for a collective wagering pot, such as in the game Texas Hold'em. It is within the spirit and scope of this invention that a player be designated as the ‘dealer/banker’ and would pay out awards and collect losing wagers. In this alternative, the house would not be the banker, but the house would collect a fee from each player. This fee may be for a player actually dealing the cards and administrating the game or simply for the use of facilities. Like Hold'em, a dealer (or dealer/banker) position could be rotated around a table after successive games in order to equalize any advantage or disadvantage inherent to the dealer position.

In another embodiment of the present invention, an overall winner of the poker-type card game could be determined on the basis of an overall number of hands won, as opposed to determining winning and losing hands on the basis of each individually completed hand.

Statement of Operation

In the preferred embodiment, at least one player places an ante wager that the player's completed poker hand will beat the dealer's completed poker hand in a showdown. The player has the option to place a bonus bet wager that the player's hand will achieve a poker hand having a pre-determined poker value, regardless of whether or not the player's hand beats the dealer's hand.

The dealer then deals two two-card partial poker hands face-up on the table and one community card face-down. At this point in the game, the dealer evaluates each hand's rank. In this evaluation, only high cards and pairs are used. Thus, only for this partial hand evaluation, flush's and straight's do not count. Based on this evaluation, the highest ranking partial hand is assigned to the dealer as an initial dealer hand and the lowest ranking partial hand is assigned to the player as an initial player hand. It is this game action that always favors the dealer. At this point, the player's initial player hand is further designated as a set of community cards to be used by all other players participating in the game. As such, these community cards are placed centrally on the table so as to be visible to all players.

The dealer then deals three more cards to each individual player which the player combines with the two initial cards assigned to be community player cards to form a five-card hand. Based on this five-card hand, without knowing the value of the single community card or the value of two remaining cards to be dealt to the dealer, the player must either fold the hand (thereby forfeiting the ante wager) or make an additional/post-ante wager. After this decision has been made by each player, the two additional cards dealt to the dealer are revealed. The player now has five cards to the dealer's four, which is the game action that always favors the player. Only one card remains to determine the all poker hand values. Consequently, the concentration of all players is riveted on this final card and suspense is at a peak. Once this community card is revealed, the player has six cards from which to form the best five-card poker hand. The dealer has only five cards to form the dealer's five-card hand.

If the player's hand beats the dealer's hand, the player receives an even-money award on the ante wager. To allow individual casinos to vary their profit margins, a given casino may elect to pay an even-money award on both the ante wager and any post-ante wager(s) only if the player's winning hand or the dealer's losing hand is at least of a certain poker rank. In the preferred embodiment, the player is paid even-money on both the ante wager and the post-ante wager only if the dealer's hand is Ace-high or better. If the dealer's losing hand is less that Ace-high, the player is paid even-money on the ante-wager, and no money on the post-ante wager (resulting in what is commonly referred to as “a push”). In the preferred embodiment, this payoff structure ensures the casino a long-term mathematical advantage versus a player using perfect strategy, although individual casinos may decide on payoff structures that are either more or less liberal.

The bonus wager, which is settled independently of the ante-wager and post-ante wagers, is resolved by comparing the player's final hand to the bonus wager pay table. This table lists increasing awards for increasingly rare poker hands. Thus, a Royal Flush would pay more than a Straight Flush, a Straight Flush would pay more than a Four of a Kind, and so forth. If a casino included six-card hands in the bonus payoff structure, a six-card Royal Flush, which is Ace through Nine in the same suit, would be the highest ranking hand. This six-card Royal Flush has the potential for a $1,000,000 or higher award for a one-dollar bonus wager. This is possible because the odds for this hand are one in 5,089,630.

Although the descriptions above contain many details, these details should not be interpreted to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, the details should reflect the diligence of the inventor in fully developing a commercially successful embodiment of the invention. Examples of broader applications of this invention include, but are not limited to, other styles of playing indicia, other types of gaming instruments such as dice, applications of the embodiments to video poker machines, video lottery terminals, commercial poker parlors, scratch off games, reel-type slot machines, internet gaming, bingo parlors and/or keno lounges, and casino blackjack-style tables using electronic displays of cards rather than actual playing cards.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A method of playing a poker-type card game comprising, in combination, the steps of: receiving an ante wager from at least one player; dealing an initial predetermined number of cards face up; dealing at least one community card face down; identifying a first subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards having a relatively high poker value as compared to a second subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards; assigning said first subgroup having a higher poker value to a dealer as an initial dealer hand; assigning said second subgroup to at least one player as an initial player hand, wherein said initial player hand being a community hand shared by all players when a plurality of players play said poker-type card game; dealing a predetermined number of additional cards to said dealer hand face down; dealing a predetermined number of additional cards to each said at least one player; conveying a predetermined poker advantage to said predetermined number of cards dealt to each said at least one player relative to said predetermined number of cards dealt to said dealer, wherein said poker advantage being at least one of a greater number of cards, cards having a higher poker value, and said at least one player having a selection choice of said cards; requiring each said at least one player to one of place a post-ante wager and forfeit said ante wager; revealing said additional cards dealt to said dealer; revealing said at least one community card; assigning said at least one community card to complete each said dealer hand and each said at least one player hand, wherein a completed dealer hand comprises said first subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards and said predetermined number of additional cards dealt to said dealer and said at least one community card, wherein a completed player hand comprises said second subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards and said predetermined number of additional cards dealt to each said at least one player and said at least one community card; determining a final poker hand value of said completed dealer hand; determining a final poker hand value of each said at least one completed player hand; comparing said final poker hand value of said completed dealer hand with said final poker hand value of each said at least one completed player hand; selecting as a winning hand whichever of said completed dealer hand and each said at least one completed player hand having a higher poker value; collecting said ante wager when said at least one player forfeited said ante wager; collecting said ante wager and said post-ante wager when said at least one player having a completed player hand with a lower poker value than a poker value of said completed dealer hand; and paying each said at least one player an amount corresponding to a predetermined payoff structure when said completed player hand having a poker value higher than a completed dealer hand.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of limiting an amount of said post-ante wager to a multiple of one of one, two and three times the amount of said first wager.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of paying each said at least one player an amount equal only to said ante wager when said completed player hand being a winning hand and said completed dealer hand being less than a predetermined poker hand value.
 4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of paying each said at least one player an amount equal only to said ante wager when said completed player hand being a winning hand and said completed player hand being less than a predetermined poker hand value.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of paying each said at least one player an amount equal to said ante wager and said post-ante wager when said completed player hand being a winning hand and said completed dealer hand being at least equal to a predetermined poker hand value.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein said predetermined poker value being Ace-high.
 7. The method of claim 5 wherein said predetermined poker value being one of a pair and greater than a pair.
 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of permitting a player to be eligible to receive a pre-determined bonus payout if at least one of said completed dealer hand and said completed player hand achieves a pre-determined poker value.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of collecting a bonus wager from each said at least one player in order for said at least one player to be eligible for said pre-determined bonus payout.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein said initial predetermined number of cards being four cards and further comprising the steps of: dealing four initial cards face up; dealing a community card face down; identifying a first subgroup of two cards from said four initial cards as having a relatively high poker value as compared to a second subgroup of two cards from said four initial cards; assigning said first subgroup of two cards to said dealer as an initial dealer hand; assigning said second subgroup of two cards to at least one player as an initial player hand, wherein said initial player hand being a community hand shared by all players when a plurality of players play said poker-type card game; dealing two additional cards to said dealer hand face down; dealing each said at least one player three additional cards; requiring each said at least one player to one of place a post-ante wager and forfeit said ante wager; revealing said additional two cards dealt to said dealer; revealing said community card; assigning said community card to complete each said dealer hand and each said at least one player hand, wherein a completed dealer hand comprises said first subgroup of two cards and said additional two cards dealt to said dealer and said community card, wherein a completed player hand comprises said second subgroup of two cards and said additional two cards dealt to each said at least one player and said community card; determining a final five-card poker hand value of said completed dealer hand; determining a final five-card poker hand value of each said at least one completed player hand; comparing said final poker hand value of said dealer hand with said final poker hand value of each said at least one player hand; and selecting as a winning hand whichever of said completed dealer hand and each said at least one completed player hand having a higher poker value.
 11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: providing a video gaming machine; and displaying said poker-type card game on said video gaming machine.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein said predetermined number of cards dealt to complete each said at least one player hand being dealt individually to each said at least one player and wherein said completed player hand comprises a combination of said predetermined number of cards dealt individually to each said at least one player and said second subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards being a community hand shared by all players when a plurality of players play said poker-type card game.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying a first subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards having a relatively high poker value as compared to a second subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards being determined whereby any pair has a higher hand value than any two unmatched cards, wherein a higher pair has a higher poker value than a lower pair, wherein said first hand and said second hand each having two unmatched cards the hand with a highest card has a higher poker value, wherein said first hand and said second hand each having two unmatched cards and said highest card of said first hand and said highest card of said second hand being of equal value then the hand having the second highest card has a higher poker value.
 14. A method of playing a poker-type card game comprising, in combination, the steps of: receiving an ante wager from at least one player; dealing an initial predetermined number of cards face up; dealing at least one community card face down; identifying a first subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards having a relatively high poker value as compared to a second subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards; assigning said first subgroup having a higher poker value to at least one player as an initial player hand, wherein said initial player hand being a community hand shared by all players when a plurality of players play said poker-type card game; assigning said second subgroup to a dealer as an initial dealer hand; dealing a predetermined number of additional cards to said dealer hand face down; dealing a predetermined number of additional cards to each said at least one player; conveying a predetermined poker advantage to said predetermined number of cards dealt to said dealer relative to said predetermined number of cards dealt to each said at least one player, wherein said poker advantage being at least one of a greater number of cards, cards having a higher poker value, and said at least one player having a selection choice of said cards; requiring each said at least one player to one of place a post-ante wager and forfeit said ante wager; revealing said additional cards dealt to said dealer; revealing said at least one community card; assigning said at least one community card to complete each said dealer hand and each said at least one player hand, wherein a completed dealer hand comprises said second subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards and said predetermined number of additional cards dealt to said dealer and said at least one community card, wherein a completed player hand comprises said first subgroup of said initial predetermined number of cards and said predetermined number of additional cards dealt to each said at least one player and said at least one community card; determining a final poker hand value of said completed dealer hand; determining a final poker hand value of each said at least one completed player hand; comparing said final poker hand value of said completed dealer hand with said final poker hand value of each said at least one completed player hand; selecting as a winning hand whichever of said completed dealer hand and each said at least one completed player hand having a higher poker value; collecting said ante wager when said at least one player forfeited said ante wager; collecting said ante wager and said post-ante wager when said at least one player having a completed player hand with a lower poker value than a poker value of said completed dealer hand; and paying each said at least one player an amount corresponding to a predetermined payoff structure when said completed player hand having a poker value higher than a completed dealer hand. 